How Many Feeders are Enough?

You would not believe how many times I have been asked by people, “how many hummingbird feeders should I place in the yard”? My response is that there is no such thing as the perfect amount of feeders per yard. There are certain factors to keep in mind when deciding how many hummingbird feeders you wish to have in your yard. This post will discuss these considerations.

The first thing to consider is whether or not you have previously had hummingbird feeders in your yard. If not, I would recommend that you start out with just one feeder. The reason for this is that it will probably take the hummingbirds about a week to find the feeder once it has been hung, unless your neighbors have hummingbird feeders around their yard as well. While you are waiting for the birds to discover your feeder, you will be wasting less nectar solution. Also, placing more feeders out initially (before the hummingbirds have discovered them in your yard) is not likely to attract a greater number of birds.

As the number of hummingbirds visiting your yard increases, you will then want to have multiple feeders placed at various locations throughout your yard. This will decrease the likelihood that a dominate hummingbird will drive away all the other birds because a feeder belongs only to it. You can place your feeders all throughout your yard, thus making it impossible for a dominate hummingbird to defend all the feeders. Also, it will help if all your feeders have multiple feeding ports because this will allow for the possibility of multiple birds feeding at the same time, although this will likely be a rare occurrence.

The number of hummingbird feeders a person may wish to have is a so determined by a number of other factors as well. This includes the comment level of the individual responsible for the care and maintenance of the feeders. Also, it is important to consider the amount of space which you have available in which to hang the feeders. Lastly, you will want to monitor the number of birds visiting your yard.

There is no perfect amount of hummingbird feeders anyone should have in their yard, but there are factors that will help you determine the correct number for you personally. I hope that this post has given you the necessary information to make that decision.